


Feverish

by ladydragon76



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-31
Updated: 2015-08-14
Packaged: 2018-04-12 04:53:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4466123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladydragon76/pseuds/ladydragon76
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>Summary:</b> Primus, please let this gate be the one that takes him home?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **‘Verse:** G1  
>  **Series:** None  
>  **Rating:** NC-17  
>  **Characters:** Starscream/Megatron  
>  **Warnings:** Sparks, Consent Issues, Dub-con, Canon? What canon?  
>  **Notes:** A _long_ time ago (late 2007), I wrote [You Give Me Fever](http://archiveofourown.org/works/203788). That fic was never meant to stand alone so long. It was always meant to be a part of something longer. Well, here it is. Finally. Over seven and a half years later… See. When I say I’ll eventually get to something, I really will _eventually_ get to it. ^_^ Side benefit is that over the years LB82 has done a TON of art for this. Each chapter (except this first one) has a picture, so please be sure to check out the links at the bottom too!  <3 Enjoy!

It was a typical battle until something big exploded. Actually, that was rather typical too, now that Starscream thought about it. What made this one different, was that he and Megatron were now tumbling through the space bridge’s portal. And there was something very clearly wrong with it. It _should_ be nothing more than a tunnel, but there were _other_ tunnels intersecting it, spinning vortices that touched, writhed, and danced away like giddy tornadoes.

Starscream flung a hand out toward Megatron, smacking the silver plating to get his attention. Only the fact that he wasn’t reprimanded made the seeker tear his gaze away from the vortices to look at Megatron. The tyrant was unconscious, limbs loose as he drifted along next to Starscream. “Megatron!” He pulled the larger mech closer and tried to shake him, though what could Megatron do that Starscream couldn’t in this situation?

It didn’t really seem to matter as a new twister formed just in front of them, except that if they were going to die, it was incredibly unfair that Starscream had to suffer while Megatron got to go unconscious and unaware. “I hate you,” he muttered and snapped his wings in. Hatred or not, Starscream still wrapped himself around Megatron, forcing the mech’s limbs in close and holding on as they were yanked up and out.

Starscream had been caught in a tornado once before, not long after they awoke on Earth. This was worse despite the lack of debris. He clung to Megatron, not really out of any desire to save the mech, but as his gyros were whipped out of alignment and their bodies spun endlessly, he couldn’t do anything else. It was molten hot and burning cold, and twisting and twirling and spinning, and Starscream buried his face in Megatron’s neck and _screamed_.

~

Starscream groaned as consciousness began to return. The first thing to filter through was a tickling sensation along the edge of one wing, and he flicked it to dislodge the too-light touch. Rough, pebbly ground grated against the sensitive panels, and the seeker hissed as the touch repeated. “Fragging Primus,” he huffed, and reached out to smack the offending culprit. He missed and opened his optics to assist his aim, but then froze as he caught sight of the sky above.

It glowed a rather pleasant shade of lavender, and stars dotted it here and there, distant and faint. It was like no sky he had ever experienced on Earth or Cybertron, and Starscream laid where he was and stared up at the constellations. He cycled his vents and tried to keep the cold fear at bay while he checked his own database. The continued touch to his wing was ignored as there were far larger concerns to be worried about. He searched, turning inward and pulling up the oldest star maps he had, and still he didn’t recognize any of the star clusters. He was so involved, in fact, that he didn’t hear the irritated sigh from above his left wing.

“I thought seeker wings were sensitive,” Megatron… _whined_?

Starscream looked up over his shoulder, and there, sitting on the ground, legs folded and his chin resting in his hand while a pout made his lower lip jut out was- “Megatron?”

Crimson optics -which were entirely too bright- shifted to Starscream’s face, and a black hand reached out, seemingly of its own volition to stroke his wing again. “Hmm?”

Frowning, Starscream sat up, one hand going to his helm. Everything ached, and his gyros did a slow spin and dip before righting. “What happened?” Starscream asked. He hissed and jerked back to avoid Megatron’s reaching hand. All the silver mech did was shrug in reply and scoot- _scoot!_ closer to Starscream. Unable to process the previous moment’s actions as reality, the seeker ran a full diagnostic, ignoring -to the best of his abilities- as the tyrannical ruler of the Decepticon army pet his wing with the rapt attention common to fascinated sparklings with a new toy.

With the diagnostic complete and no processor errors appearing, Starscream turned his attention back to Megatron.

“I thought seeker wings were sensitive?” Megatron repeated. Starscream opened his mouth to respond, but the tyrant continued. “They don’t seem to be. I’d have expected you to be writhing for me by now.”

Starscream’s jaw dropped the rest of the way open, his optics wide in surprise. Writhing? Megatron wanted him writhing? The seeker made a strangled sound, and Megatron’s attention went from his wing to his face. Then, before Starscream even realized he needed to dodge, his mouth was captured in a hard kiss. An eager tongue swept in against the seeker’s, and he felt himself reacting despite the absolute insanity of it all. Hot lips moved over his, and his optics drifted shut. Primus, but how long had it been since he’d been kissed? Starscream floated, lost in sensation. Kissing had always been a weak spot for the seeker. He could spend hours at it, and Megatron was proving to be rather accomplished at the art. Always just the right pressure, the right amount of movement, guiding not dominating. Starscream gave a low purr and tipped his helm for more.

It was that purr and how it vibrated his spark that made Starscream aware of just how very aroused he had become, and by Megatron no less. He pulled back, unconsciously licking his bottom lip, and lifted his gaze from Megatron’s mouth to over-bright crimson optics. A black hand slowly reached out, and though he thought his should stop it, Starscream could only watch. His respiration was held in anticipation, and Megatron drew a single finger ever so lightly along the top edge of a wing.

The seeker whimpered at the touch, wings trembling, and Megatron grinned happily. “Ah,” he said as if he now understood something. He withdrew his hand and, having seemingly forgotten the mech he’d just pushed into quivering need, looked out over the strange landscape.

In that moment, Starscream didn’t care at all for the lavender sky, or the pale grey and gravelly dirt, or the stretching, rolling hills. He didn’t care about anything beyond the heat throbbing in his spark. “Fragging. Glitched,” he spat.

Megatron turned back to him and blinked. Honestly, what was wrong with the fool? Any other time Starscream used that tone it was the start of a shouting match. “Primus save me,” he muttered, covering his face with one hand while he debated hiking away for a private moment. If he wandered off, he’d be alone in an odd and maybe dangerous environment. That, or Megatron would just follow him. Starscream peeked through his fingers in time to see the tyrant reaching for him again. “There’s something wrong with you.”

“Mm,” Megatron hummed. Starscream shivered at the hot touch.

Wait. Hot touch? Arousal was one thing, but Megatron’s hand really felt warm beyond mere lust. Starscream shifted to his knees and leaned closer with his hands held out to feel the heat radiating off the silver plating. “You’re hot.”

“You’re beautiful.”

Starscream preened at the open, unexpected compliment before shaking it off to give Megatron a flat look. “I mean, you are overheating in a dangerous way. Something’s wrong.”

“I like your wings.”

Starscream bit his lip, optics sliding shut at the smooth caress. No, he needed to figure out what was wrong, but then Megatron’s mouth closed over his again and his thoughts fluttered off on the light breeze. Large hands gripped at Starscream’s sides and pulled him in flush against the broad expanse of a silver chest. The seeker wound his arms around Megatron’s neck and, tipping his head to deepen the kiss, slid forward, thighs bracketing dark hips. Those same hands that threatened violence against him so often, swept enticingly from Starscream’s sides to his back and out along the lower edges of his wings. This was impossible, couldn’t be happening, but he moaned into their kiss, his wings twitching as sensor nodes fired one after the other.

Slag it. He’d figure it all out later.

Starscream pulled back and pressed his face into Megatron’s neck, nipping delicately at the thick cables before finding a sweet spot. A low, rumbling growl escaped Megatron, and his hands tightened on the seeker’s flaps. Starscream arched, crying out as intense pleasure shot from his wings to his spark. He gasped for cooling air, feeling far too hot himself, then crushed their lips back together and dug his fingers beneath armor plates to pluck at the sensitive inner circuitry.

Megatron gave another low growl and pressed harder into the kiss, his hands stroking flat on the backs of Starscream’s wings. He pressed his fingers into the hinges, and Starscream jerked as a jolt of rapture flooded his senses. Unable to resist waiting any longer, the seeker sent a sharp pulse of spark energy into Megatron. The tyrant gasped, spark flaring, fingers digging in and sending the most glorious jags of sensation rippling through Starscream’s frame. Superheated lips feathered from his mouth to his lateral helm vents, tongue laving the slats and driving the last dregs of rational thought from the seeker’s mind. Starscream writhed in Megatron’s lap, spark stuttering in a spastic rhythm that he couldn’t control.

Megatron leaned forward, all of Starscream’s weight in his arms, and trailed nibbling kisses down his throat. One powerful arm braced the seeker’s back while the other slowly migrated around to his chest. A finger dipped briefly into the spinning pectoral vent, wringing a louder cry from the seeker. It rang out, echoing over the other soft, lustful sounds he couldn’t contain. Starscream’s spark swelled, pulsing hard and thick, the heat between them setting his sensornet alight.

“Starscream,” Megatron murmured. His tone was so full of want and desire it threw the seeker over the edge. 

As release claimed him, Starscream shouted, then shrieked, “Nhhh… ahh! Meh… gah… _tron_!” He arching his back to push his chest harder to Megatron’s, hands clamped tightly to broad shoulders. Megatron gasped, jerked the seeker back upright, and pressed their bodies together hard enough to make the metal squeal. A low growl grew into a deep moan, and Megatron rocked them, face burrowing into Starscream’s neck as a full-body shiver rippled through him.

They remained that way for a long moment. Starscream clung tight, respiration fast and cooling systems working hard to expel the excess heat. He let his forehelm drop to Megatron’s shoulder and moaned with a zinging aftershock.

Megatron lifted his helm, using it to force Starscream to roll his head to the side. He dragged his lips along the seeker’s jaw and there was a noticeable difference in temperature. Starscream turned enough to capture Megatron’s lips in another kiss, and left his optics shut when the tyrant finally pulled away. He could feel Megatron staring at him and smirked. “Had I known how curious you were about my wings, I’d have let you inspect them sooner.”

There was no response, so Starscream opened his optics and sat up straight. Megatron looked at him with a curious expression on his face, his hands resting easily on the seeker’s hips.

“Something is wrong with you,” Starscream began. “I’m not sure what it is, but since I can feel your body cooling now, I’m going to assume that _lovely_ merge burned off whatever it was.”

Megatron merely stared at the seeker, optic ridge slowly arching up.

Starscream grinned. “It was exceedingly pleasant.”

The other ridge lifted to join the first. “Pleasant?” Megatron asked.

“ _Exceedingly_ pleasant,” the seeker corrected. His smile faded, his tone sobered, and he said, “However nice it was, I need to know what you want me to do next time.”

“What do you mean?” Megatron asked.

“If your… fever should return,” Starscream said and eased himself from Megatron’s hold. “It’s not exactly moral to ‘face a mech incapable of comprehending what he’s consenting to.”

“Not exactly moral?”

Starscream huffed, and pushed himself to his feet. “Are you going to parrot everything I say? Is that a symptom?”

“I’m more stunned that you’d care about morality. Why save me at all, Starscream?” Megatron asked and stood as well.

The seeker focused on his long-range sensors, and flicked a wing at Megatron, dismissing the question. This was too important to lose his patience over. They didn’t need a fight, they needed to get back to Earth. “I’m picking up an energy reading that is similar to that of the space bridge. This way,” he said, then launched without looking to see if Megatron was following.

“My antigravs aren’t working,” Megatron shouted.

“Then catch up,” Starscream replied. “It’s not that far.” They needed to get back to Earth. Who knew how the battle had gone without them? Plus, assuming it was an injury and not just a temporary glitch, Megatron needed real medical attention. Something Starscream couldn’t give without more specialized scanners to pinpoint the issue.

True to his scans, the energy signature wasn’t but a short flight away, over a few of the rounded, rolling hills, and Starscream landed lightly beside it. Light grey pebbles tumbled down a slight incline, disturbed by his feet, and he took a quick look around. The space bridge itself was just a rather large ring of- was that stone? It stood upright with a control panel off to the side of it that was sized more toward a minibot than a seeker, but Starscream was more concerned with the strange glyphs on it. Translation protocols, something he had upgraded ages past and were the best available to any Cybertronian, even had trouble with it.

“Little glitch!” Megatron bellowed as he strode over a hilltop.

Starscream waved a hand at him in dismissal, his focus on trying to parse the glyphs. “I told you it wasn’t a long walk. Ah!” At least he hoped he’d figured it out well enough. The seeker pressed a few of the glyphs down, and the screen lit. Coordinates, he prayed, and added the rest for Earth, then activated the bridge.

With a low whirr and sudden _whoosh_ , the bridge opened. It was very different than the dark clouds and thunder of the Decepticon space bridge. It looked like smoke, caught and held to twist and whirl between two planes of glass.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” Megatron demanded as he stopped next to Starscream.

“Of course I do,” Starscream said and hoped he wasn’t wrong. “Now let’s go. Hook should look at you once we’re back on Earth.” Without waiting, the seeker hooked Megatron’s arm and dragged him toward the portal.

What Starscream hadn’t counted on, what he hadn’t even conceived of as he stepped into that odd, swirling smoke, was that he would end up in another tunnel like the first. He gasped in surprise and pulled Megatron closer. Twisting, writhing funnels touched and bounced, and he only barely heard the tyrant’s curse as one opened before them and sucked them down into it.


	2. Chapter 2

Starscream growled as he woke to a tickling light touch on the backs of his wings. “Is this going to become a habit?” he grumbled, and pushed himself upright. A look over his shoulder was answer enough.

“You have pretty wings,” Megatron mumbled, his hands pressed flat and still petting.

“Fragging Pits,” Starscream sighed. Red optics were far too bright, and there was absolutely no way a coherent Megatron would say such a thing. Which reminded him that the tyrant had never actually answered him regarding merging. “I hate you,” he said without any real rancor, and turned to face Megatron.

“Really?” was the distracted and distant response as dark hands followed the seeker’s wings.

Starscream shook his helm but moved in closer. “Come on. May as well zap this fever out of you and get on with things.” He gave their surroundings a quick scan, but the lack of life signs was enough for the moment. Megatron’s arms wrapped around the seeker’s back, hands going right back to the wings, and Starscream rolled his optics toward the grey-green sky. “This is so wrong.” Really, he shouldn’t be aroused at all by the mech, but heat soaked into his plating, and Megatron buried his face in Starscream’s neck and held him tight, and it _was_ arousing. Desire tingled around his spark, and it wasn’t difficult at all to reach out.

Starscream wasn’t as lost to the pleasure as last time, but then it hadn’t been but a couple hours since the last merge. He was also a bit disturbed by the fact that they’d laid unconscious in an alien environment. Again. But then Megatron moaned into his neck and rocked them, and bliss zinged across circuits, disrupting the thoughts stirring in the seeker’s processors. Starscream relaxed into it, let it carry him along, and when Megatron’s arms tightened and his spark flared hard in overload, the seeker was pulled into release as well.

Respiration still cycling fast, Starscream pulled back and gave Megatron a quick scan. His temperature was coming down, and the red of his optics appeared more normal. He stood to give Megatron a chance to recover, and looked around at the environment they had found themselves in this time.

It was definitely not Earth, not with that sky, but it was more similar than the last planet. They appeared to be in a small dip between two mountains. Under his feet the ground was covered in a heathery, patchy green grass, dotted by strange stones. It took Starscream a moment of staring before he realized that it was a boulder-sized gemstone he was looking at. Grey-lavender and milky. He took a scan out of curiosity, and searched the ground for one small enough for him to take with him. If nothing else, it would make a nice addition to his collection.

“Starscream,” Megatron rasped behind him.

“We ‘faced again,” Starscream announced.

“I know.”

Starscream turned back with an optic ridge arched. “I’m not trying to take advantage, you know that, right?” Megatron nodded, and only stared off past the seeker. Starscream frowned and stepped closer to check the tyrant again. “Your fever was dangerously high.”

Red optics shifted to Starscream’s face. “I know. It’s… annoying that this glitch is persisting.” Megatron paused, eyeing the seeker. “And you’re not behaving properly.”

A shocked and affronted gasp escaped Starscream. “Not behaving _properly_?! Are you fragging kidding me?” he snapped, voice shrill and echoing off the stone around them. He was glad to see Megatron wince. “I’ve already expressed discomfort with having to merge sparks just to bring down your fever, but I need you coherent.”

“Not that!” Megatron said, and pushed to his feet with a growl. “The fact that you’re helping at all.”

“Fine. If you absolutely _need_ a frelling motive from me, try this one on!” Starscream stomped forward, leading the way to where the land opened out before them a bit. One arm swept out, and he glared at Megatron. “I want to go home, and you might prove useful. Unlikely. But you just might, so I should keep you alive for my own good. Good enough?”

Megatron’s optics narrowed, but Starscream strode forward, stopping on the edge of a rise and staring out over the valley below them. A huge arch dominated the lowest point, and a teal river snaked under it and along the valley down and to Starscream’s right. The clouds above remained a greenish grey, high, but blocking out any view of the stars beyond- assuming the seeker would have been able to see them through the atmosphere.

“Well?” Megatron demanded as he stepped up next to Starscream. “Where’s the bridge?”

Good question. Starscream reached with his long range scanners and was able to detect the faintest signal he _hoped_ was the bridge. “That way,” he answered and pointed in the direction of the arch. “It’s farther than before.”

“And my antigravs still don’t work,” Megatron said in a warning tone.

Starscream flicked a wing at him. “No. Energon is going to become an issue if this keeps happening. Flight would waste energy we don’t have.”

“Maybe if you program the bridge right next time.”

Starscream gave the tyrant an annoyed look, then launched out of spite. He didn’t go far, just down to the valley floor, because energon really was going to be a problem. Since the time travel fiasco, he had created and now always carried a small energon collector. Unfortunately, it was made to collect Earth’s solar radiation, and he didn’t think it would work on this planet. There were half a dozen carefully condensed, gelled cubes in his subspace as well, but they wouldn’t last more than a few days between the both of them.

The seeker looked up to where Megatron made his way down the steep incline and frowned. He had no idea what was happening with the space bridge, and did _not_ like the concern he felt for Megatron. Nor did he like the need to interface. There was a better way, but since he lacked a medbay, merging sparks would have to do. His best bet was to get them back to Earth as quickly as possible. Interfacing would be an energy drain as well, Starscream thought, and huffed, “Program the bridge right. Glitch brain.” He turned away and started walking. Megatron would catch up, and Starscream wanted to check that river bank for a stone small enough that he could carry.

The arch itself turned out to be a huge geode, long ago cracked and crumbled, worn down by the river that babbled through it. Starscream stood on the bank, surprised at how warm the water was, and took his time picking a suitable stone.

“What are you doing?” Megatron demanded. “I thought we were in a hurry?”

Starscream sighed and put the stone into his subspace. “I was waiting on you.” Without another word he turned toward the faint signal.

It was hours later, surprisingly without much further snark, before they both reached the bridge. Once again, it was an upright ring with the same glyphs. Starscream took the time to really try to read them, but with no new insight, he simply pushed the same coordinates and hoped that got them to Earth this time.

He was unsurprised and fairly annoyed to see the tunnel still under assault by the twisting vortices. Megatron shouted, and a large hand clamped tight to Starscream’s arm just as they were yanked sideways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Geode World by LB82](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7263142/chapters/16490980)


	3. Chapter 3

Starscream woke choking and sneezing. At least Megatron wasn’t pawing him yet, but water lashed him, and wind tore at his plating. He squinted into the darkness. Rain. Rather, one _Pit_ of a storm. Thunder cracked overhead, and for a moment it felt like the world was going to split apart under the seeker. “Megatron!” he screamed, but the wind whipped the sound away. Lightning blazed, purple and brilliant and blinding, and Starscream hissed as he spotted Megatron and rolled toward him, coughing and sneezing more water from his vents. It _hurt_ to keep his wings clamped in against his back, but gale-force winds like these could dislocate the hinges. He’d had it happen before, and a painful wing injury now was nothing he wanted to suffer through.

The stone beneath Starscream was slick and smooth, and a strong enough gust _slid_ him closer to Megatron. The tyrant was still unconscious, face-down rather than flat on his back as the seeker had been. Starscream gripped his shoulder and bit out a curse. He could feel the heat radiating from under the plating. _Just what we need,_ Starscream thought.

He scanned for the bridge, and sagged in momentary relief. It wasn’t that far away if he could catch the signal through this storm. “Megatron!” Starscream shouted into Megatron’s audial as he shook his shoulder. “Wake the frag up!” He could barely hear himself, but there was a definite edge of fear in his voice.

Megatron stirred slowly no matter how hard Starscream shook him or hit his shoulders. When he finally lifted his helm and looked at the seeker, it was with those same over-bright, unfocused optics. Starscream shook his helm, carefully pushed himself to his knees, and tugged at the tyrant’s arm.

“Get up! Get up!”

Thunder broke the world apart, lightning blazed, and Starscream hunched, well aware that they were metal objects in a stone world. He pulled again, but Megatron was moving. His hand touched Starscream’s shoulder, then curved back.

The fragging wings! The glitch was trying to find his wings. “We don’t have time for this.” There was no way he had been heard. Starscream smacked away the searching hand, grabbed Megatron’s wrist, and started crawling in the direction of the bridge’s signal.

Rain water drummed down on them and sloshed up over Starscream’s hand as it flowed down the smooth rock. Another flash of lightning lit their path, and the seeker’s energon froze in his lines. Ahead of them and angling up was a narrow, ragged-edged path. It looked engineered, but as though time had broken away pieces from the edges. The photo negative was burned into his optics even as the world went black around him again. Wind pushed him in against Megatron, and Starscream had to shake himself out of the fear and the tyrant’s petting hold.

There was nothing for it. They _had_ to move, and flying wouldn’t be just dangerous but incredibly stupid, even if Megatron were capable. Starscream clouted the silver menace in the helm as he was groped again, then tugged him along up the path.

Impossibly, the storm seemed to gain strength. The wind drove against Starscream and for every little bit of progress they made, they were shoved back almost as far with each brutal gust. He had to dampen his audials against the thunder, but he knew when each crash occurred since the very ground vibrated under him. The lightning was by far the most terrifying part. The seeker needed it to see the path, but it also showed the sheer cliffs to either side. They were to a part that was barely wide enough for the both of them to belly crawl side by side, and Megatron kept getting distracted. One flash showed him peering over the edge with all the innocent curiosity of a newspark, clueless that even though the fall itself wasn’t likely to kill them, the damage, the risk of bleeding out, or being trapped beneath a raging torrent to starve was all too possible.

Starscream pulled and pleaded. He even considered leaving Megatron for the briefest moment, but no one deserved that death. Smelted alive by one’s own systems at the bottom of some alien canyon? No. He couldn’t do it.

It felt like days later, but had only actually been about nine hours, when Starscream yanked, and Megatron followed, and they both sat with their backs against a cliff wall. Lightning flashed, and a giddy rush of laughter escaped the seeker as the narrow bridge they had had to cross was lit. The laugh turned to a shaking sob, but Starscream shoved the fear down. Megatron was leaning against him again, hands too hot despite the chill of the rain.

“Move, you glitch,” Starscream ordered, and pushed Megatron up another incline. Water poured along the wall and path, but they were a little better protected from the wind, and the storm finally seemed to be easing. At least the thunder and lightning was slowing. The driving rain hadn’t abated at all, but Starscream had gotten used to checking his position before trying to move. The wind would push and slide them, but he hadn’t slipped to bash his chin against the ground after the fourth time.

Megatron was another story entirely, and Starscream finally halted them at the top of a rise to dig a cube from his subspace. He didn’t bother giving Megatron one. With his fever, he’d just burn through it or his tanks would reject it.

Fresh energy in his systems, Starscream eased his helm up over the ridge, taking the full brunt of the wind right in his face. He slipped back a few paces, and had to climb back up, knocking away Megatron’s hands as he did. Lightning crackled across the black sky, and the seeker saw the ring. It couldn’t be more than fifty mechanometers ahead, centered on the flat, slick stone of the plateau, but with the winds, it might as well have been miles.

Starscream cycled his vents and ended up sneezing out the rain that had collected in them. “Come on. There’s nothing for it.” He grabbed Megatron’s hand as it curled over his thigh, and inched up into the wind.

Belly crawling was the only way to make progress, and that failed when Megatron rose up and was shoved back. Starscream clawed at the ground, and the tyrant grabbed his ankle by some survival instinct, but they were below the ridge again. For a moment, the seeker laid there with his forehelm pressed to the ground and let the tyrant crawl back up over him.

“Glitch. Primus.” Starscream pulled Megatron down beside him and kept one hand on the back of his neck as he made his way onto the plateau again. He fought the weather _and_ Megatron’s weak struggling the entire way to the control panel, managed to drag himself up it, and keyed in the same codes as before.

The smoke writhed within the ring, backlit, and untouched by the wind or rain. Megatron was all hands as Starscream dragged them to the portal. He even used his thrusters to give them an extra push. This time, it was with weary acceptance that the seeker noted the twisters. He let Megatron cling to him and tried to navigate past them through the vortex of twisting light. He even succeeded for a few seconds before they were sucked into another tunnel and battered about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Storm World by LB82](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7263142/chapters/16491010)


	4. Chapter 4

Starscream grunted as he struck the ground, a little surprised he was still conscious this time. It hadn’t been a far drop, but he shifted to the side and rubbed his aft to check for a dent anyway. Better than landing on his head, he supposed. Just –blessedly- out of arm’s reach, Megatron groaned as he pushed his hands against the ground and sat up on his heels. Blazing, pale red optics flickered, and Starscream sighed and moved to the mech. _Here we go again,_ he thought.

Old, moldering leaves _shooshed_ under his knees, and the seeker hissed as his hand came into contact with Megatron’s burning plating. “Primus.” He stopped the tyrant from twisting around and gripped his shoulders. “Let’s leave my wings out of it this time, shall we?” Starscream leaned in only as close as he needed to make the connection, not wanting the smelter inside Megatron against the more sensitive glass of his canopy, then pulsed out hard with his spark. There was no real lust there, and without Megatron’s hands moving over his plating, Starscream was able to keep his mind clearer. He felt nervous, and his optics constantly darted from dark shadowy tree to dark shadowy tree. It _all_ felt wrong. This place, the fact that he had to merge with Megatron, the gates themselves.

When the overload came, it pulled a gasp from the seeker even as Megatron arched back against him and roared his ecstasy. Starscream guided the tyrant to the ground and stayed close, one hand resting on the broad silver back as Megatron slipped into recharge. The seeker was exhausted himself, but the tension didn’t drain away even as Megatron’s temperature dropped back to nearly normal.

The air was crisp and filled with the pungent scent of long dead and decaying plants. The sky above was clear, and while Starscream studied the stars, he was no closer to recognizing the patterns than on the first planet. Though they did give just enough light for him to see the twisted, gnarled trunks and branches of the trees. A check on his scanners, and Starscream was relieved to pick up the bridge not too far away. It was going to be a tedious walk over tangled roots and around the wide, leaning trees, but once Megatron woke, they could head out. It certainly wouldn’t take as long as climbing that blasted path in the storm had.

Starscream crawled out of Megatron’s reach and curled up on his side in an attempt to recharge. There was a slight breeze, and now and then it made the branches creak. Each sound jolted the seeker back to full wakefulness, and after a half hour of flinching from the edge of recharge, he sat up. A scan came back clear. There were minor life signs, but nothing close. Their arrival and the tyrant’s bellowing release likely drove off all the small and skittish creatures. Which only served to make Starscream more nervous. He _felt_ like he was being watched, and while he was capable of admitting that he could be paranoid, this was something else. Something his scanners couldn’t pick up.

That sense of being stalked intensified over the next ten minutes, and Starscream jumped to his feet when he couldn’t take it anymore. There was a rustling sound off to his right, a little behind his wings, and he twisted, scanners tuned as finely as he could, but there was nothing there.

“Frag this,” he muttered. Anything he couldn’t detect was a threat. “Megatron,” Starscream hissed as he crouched beside the silver mech. “Megatron,” he repeated and grabbed the tyrant’s shoulder with an insistent shake.

Megatron grumbled and rolled to his side, but Starscream didn’t give up. “What?” the tyrant growled.

“Something’s stalking us. Get up, we need to move.” His optics swept the trees, but there was nothing but the all-pervading sense of being watched.

Rolling to his back, Megatron glared up at the seeker. “What could possibly pose a threat to us? Let me recharge, and stop being such a coward.”

Starscream hissed and punched Megatron’s shoulder. “Get up, you glitch! I don’t know what it is, but it’s there. It’s watching us even now, and you lying there, sick and wounded is just the sort of thing we _don’t_ need.”

“If you hit me again, I’ll-”

“Don’t bother threatening me!” Starscream snarled. “I’ll leave you to melt yourself if you call me a coward again. Now get the frag up!” He grabbed Megatron’s wrist and yanked, climbing to his own feet so he would have better leverage with which to pull the larger mech.

“Damnit! Starscream!” Megatron freed his arm with a twist, then stood up. “Fine.” The abused arm was swung out wide. “Lead on, blast you. How far is it?”

“Not far at all,” the seeker replied, offense still clear in his voice. “Depending on how difficult this forest is to pick through, maybe an hour.” Starscream ignored the annoyed huff from Megatron, got his bearings, and walked cautiously into the trees. The impression of being watched made the space between his wing joints itch, but he ignored it as best he could in favor of picking his way over the gnarled roots and under the spindly branches.

Their little clearing had been just that, and very quickly, the trees closed in around them. Starscream folded his wings back so they wouldn’t knock against the trunks and branches, glancing back periodically to be sure Megatron wasn’t growing feverish again, but so far, so good. The sense of being stalked did not go away, but not even once did they hear or see anything.

It was almost startling to stumble out of the trees, but Starscream hurried to the ring’s controls in relief, Megatron closely following. Deny it all he wanted, but Starscream suspected the tyrant could feel the thing stalking them too. Whatever was after them was close, and the tension made the seeker’s wings vibrate. For a moment he stared at the glyphs and wondered if he was mistranslating them, but then the unexpected happened.

“Starscream,” Megatron said, his voice low as his back pressed to the seeker’s. “Open the bridge.”

Starscream felt it too, and something subsonic vibrated against his wings. He activated the gate, caught Megatron’s arm, and hurried forward. There was _something_ in the tree line, and it was _unhappy_ as they escaped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Not Alone by LB82](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7263142/chapters/16491034)


	5. Chapter 5

“Well?” Megatron demanded as soon as they landed in the new world and had picked themselves up off the spongy ground.

At least that was a more comfortable landing, Starscream thought and flicked his wings to shake off the last of the fear.

The planet was very Earth-like, and Starscream took a moment to search for human signals, but there were none. In fact there was no technology at all beyond the gate. A glance up, and he decided it looked to be about midday, so there would be no waiting for nightfall to check the stars. Megatron didn’t appear to be feeling very patient anyway. He huffed a sigh and crossed his arms over his chest. Starscream briefly wondered if he waited, if Megatron would start tapping his foot too, but decided against it. He shook his helm and pointed in the direction of the bridge. “That way.”

Megatron stomped off, and the seeker followed at a more relaxed gait.

They trekked through a landscape so bright and colorful it could have been ripped from the pages of a storybook. Brilliant, rich green grass carpeted the ground while tall, strong, and healthy looking trees reached up into a sky so blue it make Starscream’s optics hurt and his wings ache to touch it _and_ those fat, fluffy white clouds. The air was filled with the soft perfume of flowers over the darker, richer scent of fertile soil. The gentlest of breezes kissed Starscream’s wings, moving the warm air just enough to make the large leaves on the trees rustle now and then.

“Do you hear that?” Starscream asked after a few minutes of walking, earning him an annoyed glare from the tyrant. “I’m serious. It sounds like… singing.”

“Trees have birds, Starscream.” Then he paused, and with what looked like incredible effort asked, “Do you have any energon? And how long until we finally land on Earth? This is getting ridiculous.”

Starscream handed over an emergency ration without argument, wings shrugging as he walked along the wide grassy space between the trees. “I think there’s something interfering with the entire space bridge system. Maybe some bad or broken signal being sent out. It _has_ to be something infecting the entire system. It wouldn’t keep happening if it wasn’t.”

“Can you fix it?” Megatron asked.

Wings lifted and dropped in another shrug as Starscream looked back and forth, trying to pinpoint the source of the odd song. Yes, trees had birds, but this sounded different. Like _singing_ , not twittering or chirping. “I hope so, but I’m going to have to find the cause before I can even think about repairing it, and that’s assuming that the problem isn’t originating on Earth.” Actually that could be good. The Constructicons would be able to repair it then, and Starscream just had to keep them alive until they did. Still, better to be thorough about it. “We’ll check the next gate. It’s not too far away. Maybe a couple hours.” Primus! Where was the music coming from though?

Megatron huffed and stepped over a small, babbling stream. Starscream trailed after him as the song faded off. He frowned down at the large, fat mushrooms that lined the path. Toxic, if they were anything like Earth’s fungi. Bright colors like that tended to signal such things. Granted, they weren’t going to be eating them, but the seeker still picked his way through carefully, then stepped over the stream. He was just walking beyond the massive cluster of mushrooms on the other side when the song started up again, this time from behind him.

“Why are you dawdling?” Megatron asked as Starscream paused to look back over his shoulder.

“I- Never mind.” Starscream shook it off and hurried after Megatron.

A few hours later, they stepped from the shade of the trees and into a sundrenched, picture-perfect meadow. Thick, long grasses waved in the breeze, and bright, cheerful wild flowers bobbed along in a riot of color. Above them, the midday sun shone warm and cheerful, making the ring of the gate gleam like a silver beacon instead of the pale stone it was.

Starscream knelt beside the ring’s control panel and carefully pried off the cover to look at the inner workings. It was similar enough to their space bridge that he understood what he was looking at, but that also meant that there was no issue at this particular gate. “I don’t know,” he said at length, shaking his helm. “I can check each control panel as we reach it, but this one looks fine.”

“Then let’s go.” Megatron stood in front of the ring, shifting his weight impatiently while Starscream entered the code for Earth yet again.

Before activating the portal, Starscream looked over his shoulder at the tyrant and said, “ _Don’t_ enter without me.”

“Then hurry up,” was the snarled reply.

The seeker sighed, opened the bridge, then rushed to enter it with Megatron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Fa La Lalala Laaa~ by LB82](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7263142/chapters/16491055)


	6. Chapter 6

Starscream stared _up_ with wide optics. A thousand feet above his head were the first branches of a tree so massive his processors stalled out in trying to comprehend its very existence.

“This is ridiculous,” Megatron growled.

Starscream nodded, but continued to stare. He wanted to fly up to those gigantic, twisting, interlocking branches. It would be a waste of energy, but he had never seen the likes of them before. The air was rather oxygen-rich, but the _size_ -

“Starscream!” Megatron snapped.

“What?!” The seeker glowered. Primus, couldn’t he just allow a single _minute_ for scientific curiosity? This was unprecedented! Organic things just didn’t get _this_ large. How was it able to remain standing? How had it not collapsed under its own impossible mass? Not only that, but it wasn’t the only one! All he could see in the gloomy light were massive tree trunks.

“How far to the bridge, Starscream?” the tyrant demanded, arms spread.

A quick scan, and Starscream pointed into the distance between two of the trees. “I’m barely reading it. So the signal’s either masked somehow, or it’s quite a walk to get there.” It was probably a long walk, knowing their luck.

Megatron set off without another word, and Starscream followed him, though his gaze swept all around, taking in as much as he could. The silence grew heavy and oppressive. Soft, dense moss absorbed the sounds of their footfalls and was the only growing thing Starscream could see aside from the occasional brown toadstool. Those were impressively large as well, and Starscream thought he could use them as a seat. Not that he went over to see. They grew at the very base of the tree trunks, and Megatron strode right down the middle of the clear ground between the behemoths. Going off to the side so far just to see if he could sit on alien fungi wasn’t something the seeker was willing to do. Starscream didn’t want to push Megatron’s temper since he seemed to be in a _mood_.

Or he had been.

Starscream frowned as he watched Megatron over the course of the next few minutes. The tyrant began to wander off to the side, his stomp taking on a more relaxed stride. The seeker picked up the pace, but before he even reached Megatron, he knew the fever was back.

“Megatron,” Starscream called, and received a blandly confused look in return. “I think we should stop. It’s safe enough here.” And it was. There was nothing on his sensors, and more importantly, his instincts weren’t screaming at him that they were being stalked.

“No,” Megatron replied, but he did stop walking. He turned in a slow, stumbling circle, looking up at the branches far overhead. “This isn’t Cybertron,” he mumbled, then looked back at Starscream. His too bright optics lit even more when he spotted the seeker’s wings. “Oh.”

Starscream sighed, but didn’t dodge as the addled mech reached for him. Gentle hands closed over the top edge of his wings and stroked outward. “I almost like you better like this. Wrong as it is.” He shook his helm with a sigh, gripped Megatron’s waist to pull him close, and said, “Come here. We better tend to this before it gets worse.” Hauling Megatron through the storm hadn’t been a matter of choice. It had been far too dangerous to stop and merge off the fever there. They would be lucky to get through this without permanent processor damage at this point, so he wouldn’t let it wait unnecessarily.

Megatron followed Starscream down to the soft moss and laid back as he was gently pushed. His hands didn’t leave the wings, and Starscream was left with no choice but to stretch out over the silver mech. Again, it was far less about pleasure for the seeker than it was for Megatron. Hitched moans were strangely muted as their sparks merged, the energy sweeping and swelling back and forth. Megatron arched and gasped, his expression one of open rapture. Starscream watched him, pulling some pleasure from the obvious effect he was having.

As before, the tyrant’s overload dragged Starscream along into his own. Megatron’s arms fell to the ground soundlessly as soon as the grip of release eased, his optics darkening into recharge. The seeker shook his helm and decided now was as good a time as any to get some rest himself. He set his internal alarm to wake him in an hour, then drifted off, still draped over Megatron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Trees by LB82](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7263142/chapters/16491070)


	7. Chapter 7

Starscream groaned as he pushed himself up to look around. That last bridge had been _awful_ , and he hadn’t noticed Megatron starting to fade off into another fever haze until he’d opened the portal. Then the seeker had to chase after the glitch before he wandered into it alone.

A quick check showed Megatron still unconscious just a few steps away, and another scan proved the next bridge was within mechanometers. Starscream stood, and stared at the sight. Beyond the lip of the concrete gully swept an incredibly beautiful city. Tall, spiraling towers stretched into the bright blue sky. Between them and at various levels arched bridges. The sunlight gleamed through colorful picture windows, and not a bit of the silver-grey stone or black wood that made the ruins was without some intricately carved detail.

It was breathtaking. It was the closest thing to the spires of Vos Starscream had seen in millennia, and it made his spark ache in pure longing. Now and then a warbling bird cried, and the seeker assumed they were hiding in the trees. Trees black as onyx and clearly the same wood decorating the city. Deep maroon leaves rustled in a light breeze and blew across carefully cobbled pathways.

Prominent, and right there across a bridge, stood the ring, not but three dozen paces from Starscream. It was then that he noted that some of the carvings matched the glyphs he had seen since the first bridge. His optics lit in excitement. _This_ was the originating society. Or, what they had left behind. None of the seeker’s scans returned with sentient life signs. Animals aplenty, probably those birds he could hear with their odd warble-trill, but no _people_.

A scrape of sound drew Starscream’s attention to Megatron, and bright red optics blinked in hazy confusion. He had better take care of that, then he would be able to better concentrate on the ring and glyphs. Maybe there was something in the city that could help his translation software?

Megatron was as enthralled with his wings as always, but Starscream ignored it in favor of throbbing as much energy as he could into the tyrant’s spark with each pulse. The echo of Megatron’s roar had barely faded off when the seeker pulled away, and with a quick pop from his thrusters, was out of the gully and onto a paved road that led over the bridge.

“Wait for me, you slagger,” Megatron huffed as he scrambled up the side of the gully, still uncoordinated from the overload. He caught up with Starscream easily enough on the bridge to the city, but the seeker mostly ignored him in favor of finding what he needed.

Starscream stuck to the outer edge of the city, but there were more than enough glyphs for him to put together the basics of the language. It was with some relief that he confirmed he was indeed reading it correctly before. “So what’s causing the portal to glitch?” he mumbled to himself.

“The space bridge is over here, Starscream!” Megatron shouted, having lost patience with waiting.

The seeker aimed a flat look at his leader but walked over to him. “I was translating. This city belonged to the designers of this ring system.”

“That’s lovely. Are you going to get us back to Earth this time?”

“I like you better feverish,” Starscream sniped. “You’re much more pleasant writhing under me in overload.” Megatron growled, but the seeker focused on the loose panel on the side of the control board. It was a much larger podium, longer and wider than what was next to the other gates. Starscream hoped that meant there was something here he could repair, and he crouched down to pull the panel the rest of the way off.

“Are you fragging kidding me?”

“What?” Megatron demanded.

Starscream shook his helm in utter disbelief as he stared at the obviously chewed wire and dead creature. He was in the process of reaching in to remove it when a fusion cannon blasted just off to his side. “What is wrong with you?!” the seeker shrieked as he jumped to his feet and spun around. Sharp trilling cries sounded from everywhere, and a dozen of the creatures scattered. “Are you mad? Stop that!” He shoved Megatron’s arm aside, stopping the tyrant from firing again.

“Fix that fragging gate!” Megatron bellowed. He pushed Starscream back and aimed the cannon at him. “Now!”

“Then stop shooting! Primus!” Starscream huffed, trying to slow the frantic pulse of his spark. “Put that down. You aren’t going to shoot me, and we both know it. And quit wasting energy. Hope this frelling works this time,” he grumbled to himself as he turned back to the machine, only to jump as one of the creatures popped up right beside his reaching hands.

Behind Starscream the fusion cannon charged. He lifted the creature, protecting it with his wing while casting an annoyed glare at Megatron. “If you shoot it right here in front of the bridge controls, we’ll never get home,” he said through gritted teeth. Honestly. They were barely larger than a petrorabbit and organic to boot. What was the fool so afraid of?

The creature warble-trilled at him, and Starscream gave it an amused grin before setting it aside and nudging its aft to get it moving away. The dead one was removed next, then he fixed the wires.

“Hurry up,” Megatron snapped.

“Afraid of bunnies, Mighty Megatron?” Starscream taunted, pushing his helm in as deep as he could to see if any more of the little beasts were in there. It wouldn’t do to fix it, seal up the casing, and then leave, only for another of the animals to chew and short out another wire. He should check the circuit board to, come to think of it. In fact, removing the panels would give him a better look inside for the creatures.

There was threatening growl from Megatron, but Starscream ignored him and continued to work. The circuit board was indeed fried, and it took a bit of careful soldering to reconnect the proper lines. The seeker ended up shooing away four more of the beasts, then began replacing panels, careful to bolt them on securely.

One of the animals stayed close, and Starscream eyed it for a moment once he was done.

“You are _not_ bringing that back with us,” Megatron said as if he’d read the seeker’s mind.

Starscream smirked at him, fluttered his wings playfully, and then laughed when Megatron growled at him. Unfortunately, they were out of time. Red optics were starting to brighten again, and the seeker saw no reason to stay and put them both through another interfacing when Earth would hopefully be a quick bridge ride away. Starscream activated the gate, and gestured Megatron through. He followed right on the tyrant’s heels, and almost sagged in relief to see nothing but a smooth tunnel of swirling lights. It deposited them right inside the walls of their own space bridge, just as Starscream’s coordinates were meant to.

Bonus points for startling the Pit out of the Constructicons.

A black hand reached for Starscream’s wing, but instead of letting Megatron touch him, he sidestepped, twisted, and gave the tyrant a shove in Hook’s direction. “Something’s wrong and causing recurrent overheating.”

Hook caught Megatron’s wrists, and Bonecrusher joined him to help wrangle a very grabby Decepticon leader to the ground. “How have you been clearing the excess?” Hook asked.

“Overload,” Starscream replied, refusing to allow his face to heat. “It really hasn’t been that long since the last one, though. Maybe an hour? Something’s worse, or maybe because he fired that damn cannon?” Wings shrugged. “Fix him,” the seeker ordered, then launched for his flight back to the _Victory_. He wanted a thorough trip through the washracks, then a long recharge.

~ | ~

Starscream whined as he felt hands on his wings, then groaned as he opened his optics to see Megatron leaning over him. That recharge had not lasted nearly as long as he had wanted, and here the glitch was, being handsy again. “I thought I ordered Hook to repair you.”

“You did,” Megatron replied, gaze on his own hand as he stroked out over the seeker’s wing. “He did.”

“So why are you in my quarters groping my wings again?”

The smirk deepened, and Megatron met Starscream’s gaze. “I like your wings. They’re… pretty.”

One optic ridge arched, then Starscream laughed. “Fine. But it’s your turn to blow my circuits, then I’m finishing my nap.”

Megatron leaned down, lips brushing the seeker’s. “Fair enough,” he murmured, then captured Starscream’s mouth in a devouring kiss. If it tasted a little like gratitude, Starscream knew better than to say so. Besides. There were worse things than having his wing worshiped and being driven into a mind-blanking overload.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [The Bridge by LB82](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7263142/chapters/16491073)   
>  [Cute-n-Furry by LB82](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7263142/chapters/16491076)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Art for Feverish](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7263142) by [LB82](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LB82/pseuds/LB82)




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